BKDR_KULUOZ.SMAL

Posted: April 24, 2014

Threat Metric

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The following fields listed on the Threat Meter containing a specific value, are explained in detail below:

Threat Level: The threat level scale goes from 1 to 10 where 10 is the highest level of severity and 1 is the lowest level of severity. Each specific level is relative to the threat's consistent assessed behaviors collected from SpyHunter's risk assessment model.

Detection Count: The collective number of confirmed and suspected cases of a particular malware threat. The detection count is calculated from infected PCs retrieved from diagnostic and scan log reports generated by SpyHunter.

Volume Count: Similar to the detection count, the Volume Count is specifically based on the number of confirmed and suspected threats infecting systems on a daily basis. High volume counts usually represent a popular threat but may or may not have infected a large number of systems. High detection count threats could lay dormant and have a low volume count. Criteria for Volume Count is relative to a daily detection count.

Trend Path: The Trend Path, utilizing an up arrow, down arrow or equal symbol, represents the level of recent movement of a particular threat. Up arrows represent an increase, down arrows represent a decline and the equal symbol represent no change to a threat's recent movement.

% Impact (Last 7 Days): This demonstrates a 7-day period change in the frequency of a malware threat infecting PCs. The percentage impact correlates directly to the current Trend Path to determine a rise or decline in the percentage.

Threat Level:	9/10
Infected PCs:	9

First Seen:	April 25, 2014
OS(es) Affected:	Windows

BKDR_KULUOZ.SMAL is a backdoor Trojan currently being distributed to English-predominant victims through spam e-mail. Although BKDR_KULUOZ.SMAL's e-mail messages base themselves on a known template for spam, modifications that include news references to a recent Korean disaster may allow BKDR_KULUOZ.SMAL's message to evade spam traps and arrive at your inbox. BKDR_KULUOZ.SMAL's installation allows third parties to control your PC and install other high-level threats, and malware researchers recommend deleting BKDR_KULUOZ.SMAL immediately with trusted anti-malware programs.

The Trojan that Sinks Your PC While You Read About Sinking Ships

Although cybercrooks always are on the lookout for new ways to distribute threats undetected, their methodology sometimes sacrifices internal consistency or logic for technical success. BKDR_KULUOZ.SMAL's recent e-mail campaign is just such a case in point. Randomly distributed e-mail messages appear in both their bodies and subject headers as court summons notifications. However, although the same disguise has been used by previous attacks carrying other threats, BKDR_KULUOZ.SMAL's messages contain a slight twist: an additional text as a footer that references the sinking of a Korean ferry, which may have caused hundreds of deaths. PC security experts have caught this modified version of an old e-mail strategy as shortly as several hours after the actual disaster's occurrence.

PC users who are as aware as malware researchers are of the widespread abuse of e-mail for Trojan distribution should not be inclined to open the file attachment that is offered in these e-mails. However, those who do so may infect their PC with BKDR_KULUOZ.SMAL, a general-purpose Trojan that includes the following features:

BKDR_KULUOZ.SMAL is encrypted to protect its code from casual identification by PC security products.
BKDR_KULUOZ.SMAL creates a concealed backdoor vulnerability, through which third parties may control your computer. Your PC may be ordered to sleep, reboot or perform other actions automatically.
BKDR_KULUOZ.SMAL also may install other threats onto your PC with their own functions, such as rogue security programs and their fake security pop-ups.
Your PC also may be exploited by a closely-associated botnet, Asprox. This botnet (whose components are installed by BKDR_KULUOZ.SMAL) may force your PC to distribute other spam attacks or engage in a range of additional harmful actions. There may be performance problems related to the flood of commands, but visible signs of botnet control often are minimal for an infected PC.

Fastening Shut the Latest of Backdoor Problems

The self-contradictory nature of BKDR_KULUOZ.SMAL's e-mail spam may allow BKDR_KULUOZ.SMAL to avoid an automatic filter, but any PC users who read the contents of a message before opening an attachment should be able to notice that BKDR_KULUOZ.SMAL's attack is just that: a threatening attack, rather than a legitimate communication. If you scan suspicious attachments before you open them, updated anti-malware programs with good records against encrypted threats also should be able to identify a BKDR_KULUOZ.SMAL attachment. However, malware researchers always recommend ignoring file attachments from sources that haven't been verified for safety.

BKDR_KULUOZ.SMAL is compatible with most versions of Windows, including 32-bit and 64-bit Windows 7. Although its distribution continues to be low, its potential for damage is high, as is true of most backdoor Trojans examined by malware researchers. Keeping BKDR_KULUOZ.SMAL from your computer by being mindful of toxic e-mail is the most natural solution.

Technical Details

File System Modifications

Tutorials: If you wish to learn how to remove malware components manually, you can read the tutorials on how to find malware, kill unwanted processes, remove malicious DLLs and delete other harmful files. Always be sure to back up your PC before making any changes.

The following files were created in the system:

%Application Data%\oracle\Desktop.ini

File name: %Application Data%\oracle\Desktop.ini
Mime Type: unknown/ini
Group: Malware file

%Application Data%\oracle\olo.dll

File name: %Application Data%\oracle\olo.dll
File type: Dynamic link library
Mime Type: unknown/dll
Group: Malware file

Registry Modifications

The following newly produced Registry Values are:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\..{RunKeys}HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run oracle = "%Application Data%\oracle\olo.dll"